Major Power Line Launch Today

Iran's longest power transmission line with a capacity of 400 kilovolts is planned to be officially launched on Oct. 23 in Arak, Markazi Province, in the presence of President Hassan Rouhani and Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian. According to Mehran Golabkesh, head of the Thermal Power Plants Holding Company, the 400 kV Gotvand-Shazand line stretches 322 kilometers through Khuzestan, Lorestan and Markazi provinces, IRNA reported. The line is equipped with two 400 kV substations located in Gotvand hydroelectric dam and one 230 kV substation in Shazand. Moreover, there are 825 single circuit towers and 23 double circuit towers between the two substations. "The project was developed at a cost of $40 million in 10 years," he added, noting that except for a part of optical fibers which were imported from South Korea, the rest of the equipment was manufactured with the help of domestic producers. Iran has an installed power capacity of around 75,000 megawatts.